In a controlled-environment facility, such as within a correctional facility (i.e., a prison or jail), controlling access, information, interaction, and/or transactions is often of particular interest. In a correctional facility in particular, safety and security is of paramount importance and, therefore, the number one job of the personnel thereof is to effectively implement controls with respect to the residents (inmates) thereof. However, such controlled-environment facilities often operate not unlike a small city in which a number of individuals work and live, thus requiring various goods and/or services associated with civilized society. Accordingly, various exchanges of information, money, goods, etcetera, may be performed in association with individuals of a controlled environment, both within the controlled-environment facility and external thereto.
For example, an inmate residing in a correctional facility may wish to communicate with friends and family outside of the prison facility. Likewise, an inmate may wish to acquire commissary items, such as toiletries, bed linens, clothing, and food items. However, facilitating and administrating exchanges of information, money, goods, etcetera, with respect to a controlled environment facility, such in association with each of the foregoing examples, is often costly and time consuming and may even present security and safety issues. For example, often substantial controlled environment facility personnel (e.g., guard) time is expended in scheduling visitations, conducting background checks with respect to visitors, providing information regarding visitation times and rules, etcetera. Likewise, substantial controlled environment facility personnel time is expended in taking orders for commissary items, verifying that individuals have sufficient funds to purchase commissary items, accepting and accounting for funds received from various individuals for the benefit of another individual to purchase commissary, reporting status of accounts and orders, delivering commissary orders, etcetera. Moreover, such personnel may be called upon repeatedly to perform such tasks as respond to balance inquiries, explain account deductions/credits, answering frequently asked questions, and/or the like. The time such controlled environment facility personnel dedicate to such tasks is both costly to the controlled environment facility and removes such personnel from other tasks, such as securing the facility and monitoring the activity of the population.
Moreover, such tasks as accomplished today are typically largely paper based and require appreciable manual processing, thereby further aggravating the directing of personnel's attention away from tasks more primary to the operation of the controlled environment facility and further adding to the costs. For example, appreciable resources are often involved in taking commissary orders, such as to provide updated item and price lists, order forms (e.g., SCANTRON forms), etcetera. Commissary orders are typically delivered by a designated commissary provider, which packages a resident's ordered goods and deliver them to the facility. The personnel that prepare the commissary packages are subject to background checks and are monitored to prevent contraband introduction into the facility in this manner. Prior to distribution, the orders are sorted by housing unit, etc. Accordingly, current processes for facilitating and administering exchanges of information, money, goods, etcetera, with respect to a controlled environment facility involve substantial expenses of consumable resources.
Traditional methods for dissemination of education or entertainment media in controlled-environment facilities have included print libraries, or the like. Traditionally, residents of controlled-environment facilities, particularly controlled-environment facilities such as correctional institutions, are not allowed access to streaming content. Similarly, unrestricted or untethered access to wireless data communication systems is not typically allowed, such as for security reasons. That is to say, traditionally, there are security concerns in a controlled environment facility that result in a need for tightly controlled media. Regardless, the use of tablet computer devices, smartphones, and/or the like, particularly adapted or otherwise approved for use within a controlled-environment facility has recently been adopted in certain facilities. However, the cost of streamed or downloaded data, particularly in the form of media files, data plan limits, and/or the cost of bandwidth to download or stream such files, may still be a concern.